Family

National Dog Day is celebrated each year on August 26. The buoyancy our furry friends provide is balm for our Covid-weary spirits. Pets made great companions during the throes of the pandemic. I experienced separation anxiety when we felt…

As a child (and into adulthood), I experienced abuse: sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional. Both my parents were narcissists, one more severe than the other: my mother was an alcoholic, and my father had a sex addiction. As a result, I was highly insecure…

How can you go about daily life when you feel rejected, hurt, sad, angry, and you’re not yourself? The key to moving forward and getting out of stuck is to focus on your wellness. The emotional stress of estrangement can take its toll on one’s mental…

The older we get, the more often we find ourselves looking back and musing on the trajectory of our lives. Did we get it right? Or is there, indeed, one right way? There are many dimensions to such questions, but here I want…

Berenice looked horrified. In the group I was running, she was coming to terms with the idea that she really needed to speak to her parents about the fact they were coming towards the end of their lives…

Even if you are not super competitive, we all like to be correct/win – especially when it comes to people closest to us like our family/partners. Wanting to be right can extend to almost any aspect of our lives – some significant, but many times trivial…

When it comes to divorce, especially if you’re past your 6th decade, the first thing to remember is not to blame yourself. The main reason why you feel terrible, even when the whole ordeal is at the finish line, is the Pain Impact Factor (PIF)…

There was a song, more of a jingle really, when I was growing up, Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. It never made much sense to me then. I was too young and all my friendships were relatively new…

Estrangement from an adult child is an emotional and/or physical distance that is emotionally troublesome for all involved. The complicated nature of the process and elements of estrangement are as varied as the individual stories…

It all starts with a baby. A sweet helpless and very loved bundle of not-yet-known-but-absolutely-expected joy. You held that baby and felt the excitement of a new human presence in your life. A grandchild!